Imagine
this: It's high school again, and you're hanging out with
the social outcasts of the school, gamers, goths, punks, geeks,
etc. Out of all these, 75% are very “well to
do” money-wise. Now put them in a beautiful city with
warm weather, have them spend their time painting, making films,
or doing animation, and you have SCAD. Now, maybe this
is kind of a poor analogy, but most of SCAD's
student body are the social outcasts of high school who
haven't grown up. I really tried to be a mature
young adult there, trying to make myself and the school
better. But many other students would have none of it.
They were content to complain because they felt better doing
that. So, after about two months of trying this, I
spent the rest of the year drinking whiskey and smoking
weed, probably because I was absolutely miserable. I was spending
$22k/year to attend a very good school, but trying to
make friends was impossible, because I was “different” from the
“SCAD different”, or the snooty, angsty, pompous 19 yr old
who think their crap doesn't stink because they're in art
school and they have $$.
I'm not knocking SCAD as
a scholastic institution. A very good art school. On top
of my sound design major, I learned enough information about
film/video to practically get a job in it...and this is
after a year and a half! The professors are good
(mostly) and esp. the more major-specific ones are very accessible
and personable. One of my teachers gave us extra help
on our work over a cigarette outside.
People knock Savannah
for being a bad place to live due to crime.
I never had a single issue. If you look like
you're not rich, drive a beater for a car, and
carry yourself with an “I'll kick/go psycho on your ass”
look, you'll be just fine.
As for stuff to do,
there is very little if you're under 21. Either do
what I did and make a fake ID for liquor
stores/clubbing, or spend your free time on your computer.
Basically,
think about this before attending:
- Do I value
the social aspect of college life?
- Will I
have a tough time carrying myself in a city with
a dubious crime record?
- Will attending be a serious
financial burden?
If you answered yes to any of
these three questions, look into SCAD further before going full
steam ahead. As for me, I left after a year
and a half and am very happily attending a cheaper
college in Florida